thanks michael! that's what i was hoping to hear. i have 2 trap boxes ( hogan's )that are ready to hang & just sprayed some frames of old brood. hogan says brood, even old brood will draw the bees to it & might even entice the queen to come out.

BT=bacillus thurengiensus. 2 tbsns per gallon of water. spray the comb & allow to dry before storing to prevent molding. it's used to safeguard the comb from wax moths. the powers at be consider it organic so it will not effect your organic status. the best deal i've found is from a u.s. supplier called hid hut. it's sold under the trade name Xen Tari. it's still certified for bee use in canada. i talked to the u.s. mnfr & was told that there was not enough of a demand for it in the u.s. to warrant the expense of having it recertified for bees in the u.s. i've not used it on my comb from supers, only brood comb. it's probably ok but i'd rather not have it in my honey. here's a link for hid hut:http://www.hidhut.com/xentari-p-31.html

Unfortunately, no. Wax moth larva are more like caterpillars whereas SHB larva are more like maggots. The BT has no impact on SHB larva because of how selective the spores are. They apparently are not consumed or effectively activated in the gut of the SHB larva. But boy howdy does it jack with the wax moth larva.

if you are using screened bottom boards you can use diatamaceous earth or rotonone on the ground below the hive. non poisonous powders that gets in their vitals & suffocates them. you'll need to replace it after a rain. nematodes in the ground help as well. if you use nematodes do not use the above mentioned powders as it will kill them too. i'm also trapping adult beetles. when i feed i put a division board feeder in an empty hive body above the inner cover. when the syrup runs out i find that the beetles will congregate in the empty feeder. i bang it against the upside down outer cover & smash them with my hive tool or thumb. you gotta' be quick as they'll fly off if given the chance.

I simply put them in full sun and make sure to not give the bees too much space. The SHB's are still there but the numbers are very low. The troubles I've had with them is when a hive suddenly goes queenless, is relatively weak (too much space) and is in the shade. To me in my apiary, full sun is key.

If you do use BT, make sure it is the type in Xentari and not the type in Dipel. I have not seen or read where the Dipel version of BT is effective.

Also, do not use it on wet honey frames. Honey is anti-bacterial and may compromise the effectiveness of the BT. If you are going to use it on frames that have just been extracted, let the bees clean them up before spraying.

it does help when storing & when in the hive. i still freeze all frames 2-3 days before storing to kill off any other critters like small hive beetles, their eggs & larva, & mites. i have an upright deep freeze & keep 1 shelf dedicated to bee frames.